Today, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Medicare, a critical lifeline for America’s seniors that is working. And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, that program will be solvent through 2030.

“Fourteen percent of Americans are over the age of 65. Thanks to Medicare, they have a high quality of life in retirement without sacrificing their standard of living or burdening their loved ones with medical bills,” said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “Medicare is a success story. It’s improved and strengthened families, the U.S. health care system and the lives of older Americans and the disabled. We’re encouraging our retiree members to speak out to make sure that it is preserved for future generations.”

“Current and future retirees must be wary of those politicians who are seeking radical changes that would make it harder for seniors and disabled Americans to see a doctor or fill a prescription,” said Fiesta. “Telling our stories about the difference Medicare has made in families’ lives is important.”

But, just last week, we had a new reminder that Medicare, despite it’s success, is under attack by Republicans. Here in New Hampshire, Jeb Bush admitted that he wanted to “phase out” Medicare for future seniors. He even doubled down on his position after being challenged by a frustrated senior in Gorham (video here).

Jane Lang, Vice President of the NH Alliance for Retired Americans confronted Jeb Bush at a town hall meeting in Gorham, NH shortly after he announced his plans to “phase out Medicare.”

“Medicare was created 50 years ago this month to ensure that older Americans, who are most in need of health care services, would not have to choose between a hospital stay and keeping a roof over their head.”

“Since then, all Americans have contributed to Medicare with the assumption that it would be there for them when they reached retirement age.”

“We will fight against any attempt to take away our earned health care benefits and make sure that older Americans know who is on our side, and who is not.”

Jeb Bush isn’t the only Republican that wants to end Medicare as we know it. Several, including Kelly Ayotte, tried to pass the Ryan budget, which would end the program as we know it, while at the same time increasing out-of-pocket costs for seniors.

Every GOP presidential candidate wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which has helped to strengthen Medicare’s solvency for the future, while also saving seniors billions in prescription drug costs.

“As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Medicare as a successful program that hundreds of thousands of Granite Staters rely on for health care, it’s important to see what the Republican nominees for President have in store. Jeb Bush’s comments last week just adds another chapter to the long book of Republicans trying to destroy Medicare or turn it over to corporations. Nearly the entire Republican field supported Paul Ryan’s efforts to end Medicare as we know it. New Hampshire simply can’t afford Jeb Bush’s ideas to phase out Medicare,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley.

Concord, N.H. – Today marks the fifth anniversary of President Obama signing the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and five years later, Kelly Ayotte is still working to roll back Wall Street reform and attack the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

As Ayotte continues her long-standing opposition to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a new report shows the CFPB’s enforcement work has secured more than $10 billion for consumers across the country.

Wall Street special interests have also been some of Ayotte’s largest contributors throughout her career, and a report from National Journal showed that Ayotte received more than $100,000 for attending a recent New York City fundraiser co-hosted by Wall Street reform opponent and GOP mega donor Paul Singer, largely from employees of Singer’s own hedge-fund firm.

“Since going to Washington, Kelly Ayotte has put her special interest backers first, working to roll back Wall Street reform and attack the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the expense of New Hampshire consumers,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Press Secretary Aaron Jacobs. “It’s shameful that five years after the passage of a major Wall Street reform bill, Ayotte is still working to protect her special interest backers and undermine the new protections for New Hampshire consumers.”

Related Reading

The Securities & Investment Industry Is The Top Contributing Industry To Ayotte Over Her Federal Career With More Than $800k In Campaign Contributions. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the “Securities & Investment” industry was the top contributing industry to Ayotte over her career as a Federal candidate. The industry has contributed $823,792 to her campaigns. [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 3/9/15]

Ayotte Voted For FY 2014 Ryan Budget That Would “Roll Back 2010 Wall Street Reform Legislation.” “Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, rolled out his new budget on Tuesday, a document reminiscent of his old budget that Democrats ran against in the 2012 election. It would partially privatize Medicare, slash Medicaid and food stamps by turning them into block grants, abolish the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), roll back the 2010 Wall Street reform legislation, and throw open federal lands in all places to all kinds of drilling and gouging proposed by Big Oil and Big Coal.” [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/12/13]

Ayotte Voted For “A Wall Street-Supported Amendment Attacking The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau” That Would Let Republicans Slash Its Funding. According to the Huffington Post, “The amendment, offered by Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), is a resolution to move the CFPB’s funding away from the Federal Reserve and put it under the direct control of Congress through the appropriations process. This would not only give Republicans an opportunity to slash the bureau’s funding, but to leverage its budgeting control to pressure the agency against cracking down on lenders. […] Three of the Republicans who voted for the bill are up for re-election in 2016 in swing states, including Toomey and Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). “ [Huffington Post, 3/20/15]

Ayotte Also Voted Against Confirming Richard Cordray To Be Director Of CFPB. In July 2013, Ayotte voted against confirmation of President Barack Obama’s nomination of Richard Cordray of Ohio to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [CQ; Vote 174, 7/16/13]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Had Received More Than 2,000 Consumer Complaints From New Hampshire Since December 2011. [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database, Accessed 3/23/15]

Washington Post’s The Fix: Singer Was “A Vocal Opponent” Of Wall Street Reform. “Soon after Congress passed the Dodd-Frank bill — of which he is a vocal opponent — in 2010, he held a fundraiser at his house in Central Park West for seven senate candidates who had opposed the legislation.’” [Washington Post, The Fix 4/4/14]

(WASHINGTON, DC) – New Hampshire’s Congressional delegation sent two letters to federal regulators expressing concerns about the ability of Granite Staters to have their voices meaningfully heard in the federal review process of Kinder Morgan’s Northeast Energy Direct (NED) natural gas pipeline. The letters, addressed to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and to the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) both seek opportunities to ensure that New Hampshire stakeholders are provided a thorough opportunity to participate in the federal review process for proposed natural gas infrastructure projects like Kinder Morgan’s NED pipeline.

The first letter, to the Inspector General, from Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Representative Ann McLane Kuster (NH-2), and Representative Frank Guinta (NH-1) calls for a review of FERC’s interstate natural gas permitting process with regards to the importance of public comment. It reads in part:

“Our constituents have expressed frustration about the lack of information from FERC and the limited extent that public input is considered in the Commission’s review and approval process for energy infrastructure projects… It is essential that all stakeholders be afforded meaningful opportunity to participate in the FERC permitting process; therefore, we respectfully request you examine FERC’s interstate natural gas permitting process…”

The letter continues to propose five questions the Inspector General should investigate relating to FERC’s handling of the project, and is available here. The DOE’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is an independent office within the Department of Energy responsible for conducting and supervising audits, inspections and investigations relating to DOE’s programs and operations, including FERC.

In the delegation’s second letter, to the Chairman of FERC, the issue of public input was again raised. The letter is available here, and reads in part:

“…many in New Hampshire are concerned that public input and comment plays a limited role in the Commission’s final decision. For a project that has the potential to impact a significant number of people and communities in our state, we believe the Commission must fully consider public input in all aspects of its decision-making process…That is why we invite you to come to New Hampshire so that you can directly hear from New Hampshire citizens and better understand the concerns that they have.”

These two lettersfollow previous requests from the delegation to both FERC and Kinder Morgan asking that they seek appropriate input from New Hampshire residents on the proposed pipeline. A list of those letters, with links, are provided below:

Concord, N.H. – Republicans in the legislature are trying to cover up Kelly Ayotte’s political meddling in New Hampshire’s budget, refusing to release any records in response to the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Right To Know request concerning Ayotte’s interference in the budget process.

Citing a 2011 opinion by then-Attorney General Michael Delaney, the House and Senate declined to release information sought by the state Democratic Party on budget decisions.

Democrats sought information that State Party Chairman Raymond Buckley claimed would show that U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte interfered in the state budget process in order to inflict political damage on Gov. Maggie Hassan, a potential challenger to Ayotte for the U.S. Senate seat next year.

Buckley sought phone, email and calendar records of GOP House and Senate leaders and their staff.

But Senate Legal Counsel Richard Lehmann, writing for both the House and Senate, said in Delaney’s 2011 opinion he declined to open “legislative and staff emails to unfettered public access.”

… Democratic officials said Republican legislators are disregarding the constitution to protect Ayotte in denying their right-to-know request.

“It’s disturbing that Republicans in the legislature are willing to completely disregard New Hampshire’s constitutional requirement of transparency in order to cover up the efforts of Kelly Ayotte and her allies to politically meddle with the state’s budget at the expense of New Hampshire’s people, businesses, and economy,” said state Democratic Party press secretary Aaron Jacobs. “Regardless of who runs against Kelly Ayotte, it’s wrong that Ayotte’s allies clearly have been pushing the state legislature to politicize the budget process in a desperate attempt to rescue her vulnerable re-election prospects. Legislative leadership should release this information immediately.” [Full story]

The legal counsel for the Republican-controlled state Senate declinedTuesday to turn over to the state Democratic Party individual lawmakers’ and legislative staffers’ emails, citing an opinion by the state attorney general.

Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley last week submitted a right-to-know request to state Senate President Chuck Morse seeking “all communications records of yours, your staff or the Senator Leadership Office” with U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, her official staff, campaign staff and any paid consultants.

Buckley charged that Ayotte’s “political operation” meddled in the state budget process in an attempt to cause gridlock at the State House “with the goal of scoring political points” against Gov. Maggie Hassan, who has been mentioned as a possible Ayotte opponent in her 2016 re-election bid. [Full story]

The State Senate’s lawyer ruled the New Hampshire Democratic Party has no legal access to emails, telephone calls or calendars of GOP senators to see whether Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, meddled in their feud with Gov. Maggie Hassan over the state budget.

… A Democratic Party spokesman said legislative leaders should give up the records in the interest of transparency.

“Regardless of who runs against Kelly Ayotte, it’s wrong that Ayotte’s allies clearly have been pushing the state legislature to politicize the budget process in a desperate attempt to rescue her vulnerable re-election prospects,’’ Press Secretary Aaron Jacobs said.

People For the American Way Activists Hold Light Brigade Action to Send Message: Ayotte Won’t #GetMoneyOut

Manchester, NH- Friday July 10th, People For the American Way and allies joined the Seacoast Overpass Light Brigade to hold boxes with LED light letters over the South Willow St Bridge in Manchester to spell the message “Ayotte Won’t #GetMoneyOut.”

Sen. Kelly Ayotte has repeatedly refused to support a constitutional amendment that would overturn cases like Citizens Unitedandrestore the ability of Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on money in elections.Inprevious public statements and letters to activists, Sen. Ayotte has characterized a constitutional amendment as “dangerous.” People For the American Way and allies delivered over 12 thousand petitions in support of the Democracy For All Amendment to her Manchester offices in May.

“We are joining together to hold Sen. Ayotte accountable for ignoring the voices of the 69 percent of New Hampshire voterswho support a constitutional amendment to get big money out of politics,” said PFAW New Hampshire Campaign Organizer Lindsay Jakows. “Voters are increasingly concerned about the influence of money in politics this election season, which is something the senator has clearly failed to recognize.”

New Kelly Ayotte Campaign Video Tries To Hide Record Of Putting DC And Wall Street Special Interests Before New Hampshire

Ayotte Brags About Miserable Record On Issues Including
Working Families & The Economy, Education, And the Environment

Concord, N.H. – Kelly Ayotte is launching her vulnerable campaign stunningly early and it’s no secret why: Republicans know that her record of putting Washington and Wall Street special interests before New Hampshire has put her re-election at risk.

In a new campaign video, Ayotte tried desperately to run from her record of putting special interests first while turning her back on New Hampshire’s people, businesses, and economy – even bragging about her miserable on issues including working families and the economy, education, and the environment.

But if Ayotte believes she’s going to be able to hide the fact that she’s turned her back on New Hampshire, she’s going to be in for a rude awakening at the ballot box.

See below for some of the key facts missing from Kelly Ayotte’s campaign video:

Kelly Ayotte Claims She’s “Bipartisan” But The Truth Is She:

Played politics with public safety, pushing the Department of Homeland Security to the brink of shutdown.

“New Hampshire is a pro-gun state, but it is also a pro-gun safety state. Senator Ayotte voted against common sense criminal background checks and the 89% of her constituents who support them,” said Zandra Rice-Hawkins, Executive Director of Granite State Progress. “We will be on the campaign trail to remind voters of Senator Ayotte’s record and to also encourage her to do the right thing now. For two years she’s refused to host a town hall dedicated to how we can reduce gun violence, and in the town halls she has hosted her moderators screened out questions regarding her vote against background checks. Reducing gun violence is a pressing national issue and Kelly Ayotte owes the people of New Hampshire a straight answer on why she continues to side with the NRA lobby over her constituents.”

“Senator Ayotte saw her approval ratings in the state plummet after she voted against background checks in 2013 and she should expect the same ire as she seeks re-election,” Rice-Hawkins said.

Kelly Ayotte Claims She Looks Out For Families’ Economic Interests (Including K-12 Education And Child Care) But The Truth Is She:

Kelly Ayotte has a long history of looking out for her special interest donors and opposing even modest Wall Street reform. Ayotted has voted to roll back the Wall Street reform bill and slash funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has received more than 2,000 consumer complaints from New Hampshire since December 2011.

“It’s no surprise that Wall Street special interests would try to save Kelly Ayotte after she’s consistently proven that she will always put special interests first while making New Hampshire consumers pay the price,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Press Secretary Aaron Jacobs. “This disgraced Wall Street Super PAC couldn’t buy a senate seat for Scott Brown last cycle, and they won’t be able to rescue Kelly Ayotte’s chances either.”

Kelly Ayotte Claims She’s Protected New Hampshire’s Environment And Natural Resources But The Truth Is She:

It is painfully obvious that Senator Kelly Ayotte is not working for New Hampshire families, and her record shows she will put Wall Street, Big Oil, the Koch Brothers and corporations ahead of working families.

This election, Granite Staters will be holding her accountable for her voting record, and that will lead to a major disappointment for Kelly in 2016.

While Senator Ayotte ducked, dodged and completely refused to answer the question, Senator Shaheen said, “I think the Medicaid Expansion program that was supported with bipartisan support in the state legislature has been a very big success.”

Senator Shaheen added, “We had Harvard Pilgrim Health care in our office this week and they were talking about the challenges of trying to set up health care for people in New Hampshire when they don’t know what’s going to happen and what it meant for them to try and do that. And the important thing about the Affordable Care Act is that not only does it provide health care, it provides mental health care, and it also addresses substance abuse.”

Trip Follows Ayotte’s Two Political Trips to California In As Many Weeks

Concord, N.H. – Kelly Ayotte’s #Veepstakes tour continues today with more national political travel to attend Mitt Romney’s Utah retreat that WMUR’s John DiStaso described as “a veritable “Who’s Who” of Republican political insiders.”

The activity list for the weekend (NOTE: this is NOT a parody) includes: “flag football with Mr. Rubio, skeet shooting with Mr. Graham, horseback riding with Mr. Romney’s wife, Ann Romney, and early morning hikes with the Romneys.”

It’s worth noting the last time Ayotte traveled to Utah was for a lobbyist-funded “destination fund-raiser” at the “upscale resort town” of Park City. While there, Ayotte hobnobbed with corporate executives and lobbyists and attended a fundraiser at the ski home of a lobbyist with business before one of her committees. A Nashua Telegraph editorial noted the trip had “the look, feel and smell of something Improper.”

Ayotte’s Utah trip follows her not one but two political trips to California in as many weeks.

“As Kelly Ayotte continues her aggressive political travel schedule to try to position herself for a Vice Presidential nomination, she’s leaving New Hampshire’s people and businesses behind,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. “Granite Staters deserve a senator who’s focused on New Hampshire’s priorities, not just playing the Washington game to help special interests.”

“Well, obviously this is his decision. I believe the right thing to do for him would be to step aside so that we can make sure that the focus is on serving the people of New Hampshire and not the findings of the FEC. And when it comes to things like this, I think it’s important to put the public trust first before any party concerns on this issue.”

NHPR continued to press Ayotte about some of the other things she is working on in Washington, like Fast Track trade authority. This is what she had to say about that.

(NHPR) You joined Sen. Shaheen in voting in favor of so-called fast track trade authority for the president. This is a measure supported by President Obama, but actually opposed by many Democrats, who say ties the hands of Congress on trade deals.

Why is fast-track authority the right move?

It’s the right move because again it’s about New Hampshire jobs and creating more opportunities. We have seen in New Hampshire great opportunity for more exports. The stakes are high. Some of the pending trade agreements, the estimates are they could create as many as 8,000 new New Hampshire jobs. We have seen increases in exports and we can see even greater opportunities. Ninety-five percent of the consumers live outside of the United States, so the more we can break down some of the barriers that our companies have, and have more American trade to allow them to sell their great products overseas, I know that’s why I support it. This is one that the president supports, as well.

Obviously I disagree with Senator Shaheen and Senator Ayotte in voting for the Fast Track trade authority. The TPP is NAFTA on steroids and while it will open up other markets to US trade, it will also allow big multi-national corporations to move more of their manufacturing facilities out of the US and kill more jobs.

Hopefully we can get the people in the US House to do what is right for working families.

(WASHINGTON, DC) – “We are introducing this bill because we believe hard work should pay off,” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) as she introduced a bold new plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour by the year 2020. “Let’s help more families make ends meet, expand economic opportunity, and grow our economy from the middle out.” A matching House bill was introduced by Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.).

According to Economic Policy Institute analysis, “37.7 million workers would benefit from this increase, including 21.1 million women. 37 percent of African American workers and 40 percent of Hispanic workers would receive wage increases. 90 percent of workers who would be affected by the Raise the Wage Act are 20 years old or older, 27.6 percent have children, and half have total family incomes of less than $40,000 a year. 47 percent of workers who would be affected by the Raise the Wage Act have at least some college experience. Over the last 40 years, the federal minimum wage has lost more than 30 percent of its buying power; if it had kept pace with the increased cost of living, the minimum wage would currently be $10.80 per hour.”

After the bill was introduced, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released the following statement:

“Today’s introduction of new minimum wage legislation represents significant progress in the powerful, collective movement to raise wages. It’s inspiring to see the momentum generated by working people across the country influence some of the largest corporations and the most powerful political forces.

Raising wages for working people is the defining issue of our time and workers are capturing and expanding it. While we strongly encourage Congress to support this effort, we must remember that a minimum wage increase alone will not remedy decades of failed policies that have only benefitted those at the very top. The true measure of progress must include opposing Fast Track and bad trade deals and a dedication to expanding the rights of workers to collectively bargain.”

In response to the new legislation, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, released the following statement:

“The Raise the Wage Act would boost our economy and strengthen our families. This bill would raise wages for more than 37 million people: 1 in 4 workers, 1 in 3 wage-earning women and more than 1 in 3 working people of color. Higher wages will help ensure that no one who works full time lives in poverty, and help working people provide a better life for their children and their families.

“This bill shows that working men and women, standing up and speaking out, are being heard. They’re taking their case to the streets and to the ballot box for an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.

“Low wages are the crisis of our time. To solve this crisis, our country needs a minimum wage that families can live on, and workers must be free to join together in a union and fight for the higher pay they deserve. I applaud Senator Murray and Congressman Scott for their leadership.”

Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is an original cosponsor of the Raise the Wage Act, would increase wages for nearly thirty eight million Americans. The legislation would be particularly beneficial to New Hampshire, which does not have a state minimum wage law and instead relies on the current federal minimum wage.

“No one who is working full time should live in poverty,” Shaheen said. “Hard working people and families in New Hampshire and across the country are long overdue for a raise. Nationally, nearly two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women, and in New Hampshire seventy percent of minimum wage earners are women. I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join me in supporting the Raise the Wage Act so that we can help lift families out of poverty and improve our economy.”

Of course NH’s other Senator, Kelly Ayotte has opposed an increase in the minimum wage in the past.

“Kelly Ayotte has consistently voted against a minimum wage increase that would help working families make ends meet,” said Sadie Weiner, DSCC National Press Secretary (see references at the bottom)

. “Men and women who are willing to work hard for a living deserve a livable wage that doesn’t leave them and their families struggling, and Kelly Ayotte is going to have a hard time defending her callous votes against a minimum wage increase.”

Raising the federal minimum wage to $12.00 would result in an average annual raise of $2,800 for more than 147,000 Granite Staters. The Raise the Wage Act would put more than $411 million into New Hampshire worker’s pockets, improving financial security for families and boosting the economy.

The Raise the Wage Act would also index the minimum wage to the national median wage starting in 2021. It would also eliminate the tipped minimum wage by gradually raising the cash wage over ten years from the current $2.13 per hour to match to the new regular minimum wage of $12 per hour.

Almost everyone agrees that something needs to be done and that we must raise the minimum wage. The question is, is $12 by 2020 enough of a raise?

“We are encouraged to see that our elected leaders are beginning to hear our calls for change and discussing wages and inequality in our country,” said Sacramento Walmart worker Shannon Henderson. “While $12 by 2020 would be a good first step, it still falls short of what working Americans need to raise our families. At just $10 an hour with no guarantee of full-time hours, I’m struggling today to care for my two young children. I simply can’t wait until 2020 for a decent wage. That’s why we’ll keep standing up for $15 an hour and access to full-time consistent schedules at Walmart.”

Increasing The Federal Minimum Wage To $10.10 Would Have Meant A Raise For More Than 100k Workers In New Hampshire. Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would mean a raise for 113,000 New Hampshire workers. [Economic Policy Institute, 12/19/13]

2015: Ayotte Voted Against An Increase In The Minimum Wage. [Vote 93, 3/26/15]

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